Time After Time
by TheHushSound
Summary: My view on how 'All in' should have ended! xD Quite a few characters. CaRWash strongly implied! xD It's multi-chaptered so keep checking back! :D
1. Taking Chances

_CSI:Miami._

_Calleigh Duquesne, Ryan Wolfe. CaRWash. At the moment it is Ryan's POV but that changes as the story goes on. Mmkay.  
_

_"Time after time."_

_I was listening to Ashley Tisdale's cover of Time After Time and I got this idea from it. It's my view of what happened at the end of 'All in'. Well what I wish would happen! xD  
_

_Read&Review so I know if to write more._

Ryan Wolfe stood silently outside the front of the lab, just at the top of the steps. Only an hour before, they were following Calleigh's clues to save her from her abductors. Luckily, the blonde CSI lead them right to her and they had gotten her back safely. Ryan was more then relieved when he saw her; alive and well. From the first day, he started at the lab, he was drawn to her. Maybe it was her intelligence, friendliness, her bright green eyes, or that southern accent of hers. He couldn't pin point the exact moment he had fallen head over heals for 'the bullet girl' but that didn't matter. He was in love with her but he could never tell her. She was his superior, his coworker and worst of all, it was clear Eric was in love with her and...Ryan was sure Calleigh knew that.

Now, he stood in the warm Miami heat, the sunlight beating down on his face as he watched the love of his life walking to her car...with Eric. Ryan couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with jealousy. He had wanted to look after her, bring her home, make sure she was safe and never leave her side again. But as always, Eric had beat him to it. Seeing Calleigh's beautiful smile towards Eric, he sighed and shuffled his feet beneath him. He watched them intently wondering why she was getting into Eric's car. What had happened in those few seconds before she had nearly driven off from the lab's car lot? He watched as Eric opened the car door for her and she got in before Eric went to the driver's side. The colour faded from Ryan's face as disappointment ran through his blood. If he had have walked her to her car, he could've been the one taking care of her. His eyes never left the car as Eric pulled it out and drove passed him; giving Ryan a knowing smirk. The beautiful blonde however, lifted her hand and offered a small wave with a warm smile before the car drove out of the car lot and into the traffic. But Ryan stood, rooted to the ground until it was out of sight.

"**Why don't you just tell her, baby?"** Came a sudden voice from beside Ryan. He'd know that calm, soothing voice anywhere and turned his head sideways to smile softly at Alexx.

"Tell who?" He asked, trying to act dumb but just by the look on her face, he knew that Alexx knew. She was probably watching him the entire time.

"**Don't try foolin' me, honey, I know you too well."** She shot back and laid her hand to rest on his arm, giving him a sympathetic look.

"**You never know unless you try."** The M.E. Stated matter of factly before walking off, down the steps, car keys in hand, purse slung over her left shoulder. She threw him a smile over her shoulder before disappearing into the maze of cars.

Ryan shook his head to himself as he went to his own car. He couldn't tell Calleigh he was in love with her...could he? No. It was a constant on going battle with himself. Sometimes he thought she flirted with him and gave him a special smile that was meant for no one else. There was small touches that no one really noticed except him. However, the voice in his head convinced him that he was wrong, she flirted with everyone, it was part of her southern charm. Her smile outshone the sun at times, of course it wasn't meant for him. That was his train of thought from the moment he got into the car until the moment he pulled up into his driveway. His house always seemed lonely. Everything was perfectly organized, everything had it's place, there wasn't a speck of dust to be seen. That was his OCD taking over, which it did, in a lot of aspects of his life. Ryan wasted no time, removing his CSI identity and changing into a simple pair of jeans and baby blue t-shirt. He sat alone on his couch with light music playing in the background. His life was so consumed by his job that when at home, he didn't have anything to do.

What seemed like hours later, which in fact was only 30 minutes, Ryan was up on his feet and heading back out the door. His neighbourhood was a quiet place with a few kids playing ball in the streets. It was comforting, safe. He had to see her. He had never even told her he was glad she was okay. He hadn't comforted her. He wasn't going with the hopes of anything happening, she was in a vulnerable state and he wanted to be there for her...as a _friend_. After a quick stop at the flower store, he walked to Calleigh's home. It wasn't far from where he lived, a few blocks over and he needed the walk, the fresh air.


	2. Perfection

_Hmm. Chapter two. I used quotes from a movie, I wonder if you can spot them! **Lol**_

"_The Perfect man!" I thought it just seemed fitting. _

_Sorry this took me a while to get to ya'll! ;D_

_I hope you like how this is going._

Calleigh stood still, a little shocked as Eric stopped her before she could get into her car. Here he was, one of her best friends, saying something that meant more then it should. Sure, best friends would say something like that but it was obvious, even to Calleigh, that Eric was _interested_.

"If something would have happened to you, I don't know what I would've done."The tanned cuban said, towering above her. Calleigh swallowed a little and just smiled.

"Okay." She replied and allowed Eric to open the passenger seat of his car for her. She was a little dumbfounded...not by what he said but the intense meaning behind it. She loved Eric but it was purely platonic.

Everyone who knew Calleigh, knew she was independent so it came as no shock when she had told them, she only wanted a day. She was planning on taking a day off to herself, to think about everything that had happened. It was, without a shadow of a doubt, the scariest event in her ten years in the crime lab. Regardless, she didn't need any more time, she moved on quickly and got right back in the game. She had cases to complete, evidence to log and process, victims that depended on her to tell the truth for them. And she wouldn't let her abduction get in the way of that.

But now she found herself stuck in an odd situation. Eric had dropped her off, only he was now standing at her door way. She gave him an odd look and smiled a little. She had wanted alone time but she could tell Eric wanted to come in.

"I'll be fine, Eric." She said firmly but softly and smiled. Eric shoved his hands into his pants and smiled a boyish smile at her.

"I know, you always are." Calleigh sighed a little and held the door open for him. She could let him stay for a while and then make him leave. The look on his face alone, made her feel guilty. He was just worried about her, he wanted to be there for her. She walked on through to the kitchen and turned on the kettle.

"Coffee?" She asked, receiving a nod from Eric who had followed her cautiously. Sure, he had been there before but this was different, this time he was in love with her.

An hour later, the two were sitting on her couch, recounting older times when Speedle was still alive. They were laughing over silly nights out they had all had. It felt good to laugh with Eric. As a friend and she was beginning to think that he knew his feelings were one sided...unrequited love.

Calleigh frowned a little as her doorbell broke their laughter suddenly. Eric gave her a look and followed as she went to the door. Calleigh knew that was how it would be for a while. Everyone would be cautious around her. The fact that she wasn't expecting anyone didn't mean it was dangerous to open the door. But Calleigh loved them all for their concern. Opening the door, the blonde was a little surprised to see no one other then Ryan Wolfe standing there. He looked relaxed outside of work, his trademark, somewhat shy smile was on his face as concern played in his eyes. Calleigh glanced at Eric and laughed a little as she opened the door and let Ryan in.

"It seems we have a party now." She remarked and chuckled once Ryan had caught sight of Eric.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know...I can go." Ryan stuttered quietly, an obvious tone of disappointment in his voice. Eric rolled his eyes and looked at Calleigh expectantly.

"Oh, no, you're not interupting, we're just talking. Come on in. Coffee?" Calleigh said quickly, emphasising the fact that nothing was going on. The two men shared hello's and both went to sit down on her couch as Calleigh went off to make coffee.

What was he doing here? She wondered and calmed herself a little, her heart had picked up it's beat since she saw him standing in her doorway. Both the man she loved and the man that loved her sat in her living room. It was a vicious little circle and she wished it was different. Ryan had gained her trust from immediately after he solved her father's case when he first joined the crime lab. He was a newbie, it was his trial run and Calleigh was furious he was working her father's case. She had little hope in newbies, they made mistakes, big ones. But Ryan Wolfe had proven himself to her and gained her trust. He was the first person that she trusted so easily in such a short time. And after spending four years with him, she had fallen for him, and hard. It was no lie, Ryan made mistakes and had disappointed her on several occasions. But he had always proved himself to her afterwards. Despite his mistakes, Calleigh's opinion of Ryan was never altered. Eric had made just as many mistakes and some were worse and if everyone could over look those, they should also over look Ryan's mistakes. Somewhere between their harmless flirting, glances and arguments she fell in love. The perfect person for her was sitting in her living room and she could never tell him. She didn't want to sacrifice their friendship, it meant too much to her. Calleigh was no stranger to office relationships and each of them taught her that personal life and work life simply cannot be mixed together.

"Hey Cal! You okay in there?"Eric's voice suddenly broke her thoughts causing a sigh to fall from her lips. She grabbed the coffee for Ryan and wandered back in. They were perched either end of her couch and she felt uncomfortable sitting between them so once she had handed Ryan his coffee, she sat in an armchair in the corner of the room.

"What's with the flower, Wolfe?"Eric suddenly asked. Calleigh's eyes shot to the perfect orchid in a simple pot beside Ryan's foot. Ryan shifted a little and lifted it, his eyes firmly on the pinkish flower.

"Oh it's nothing. It's for Calleigh. Thanks Eric."Ryan remarked sarcastically as he got up and handed it to Calleigh. Calleigh's eyes rested on the details of the flower, from each pettle to the stem that seemed so perfectly positioned.

"Thank you, I love it." She replied honestly and sat it on the arm of the chair. Suddenly Eric scoffed a little and rolled his eyes.

"That's the type of flower you give to your sick grandma, Wolfe. A real woman deserves roses." He remarked snidely and smirked a little at Calleigh.

"No, you give your grandmother yellow roses." Ryan muttered softly and casted his gaze to the ground.

"Orchids are perfect." Calleigh offered seeing Ryan's reaction and smiled encouragingly at him. Ryan smiled and nodded a little.

"They are. Every woman recieves roses at some point in her life and sure they're romantic but orchids are different."Ryan went on as he looked at Eric who rolled his eyes.

"Go on, then seeing as you're such an expert on women. What are orchids supposed to mean?" Eric shot back and crossed his arms waiting for Ryan's lame response.

Calleigh didn't expect Ryan to answer. She knew Ryan didn't have a lot of girlfriends, Eric on the other hand was the smooth talker, the charmer. At one point, he had had a new girlfriend every week. That wasn't something Calleigh found attractive. Her sometimes cold exterior hid the fact that she was a romantic at heart. She wanted someone she could sit up for hours talking to over meaningless things, not someone whom she had to worry about flirting with everything that could breathe.

"That's what I thought, Wolfe. You've no idea about women want." Eric remarked and chugged a drink of his coffee as Ryan sat quietly.

"I should go." Ryan said suddenly and stood up, walking swiftly to the door. Once at the threshold, he turned and faced Calleigh's direction, their eyes locked as she sat in her chair, unable to move her gaze from his. Ryan's heart beat shot up, nearly jumping out of his chest. He never invisioned himself pouring his heart out to her while Eric was sitting there. His heart and mind screamed at him to do it.

"When a woman gets an orchid, she feels like she's floating on a cloud of infinite possibility..." Ryan said with a small gulp as he shifted his feet beneath him and shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

He trailed a little as his heart stopped. This was the moment he had waited for.

Calleigh's heart pounded in her chest as she stared at Ryan. She was trying to read him, what was he trying to say? Was it possible that he loved her too? Ryan cleared his throat a little as Eric sat impatiently, his gaze going back and forward between Ryan and Calleigh.

"...When a man takes the time to pick out a perfectly crafted orchid...he's saying she is perfection and, although he could be anywhere in the world, he chooses to be with her because life is better with her by his side."

There he had gotten it out and now he was running. Not physically but mentally. His eyes poured out emotions, with one in particular evident; love. Before Calleigh even had a chance to say anything, Ryan was already out the door and Eric was standing in front of her laughing loudly.

"Yeah, like flowers can say that much." Calleigh just glared at Eric and sighed as her gaze fell back on the now, empty doorway.

"You should go. I need to rest." Calleigh insisted and showed Eric to the door before shutting it firmly behind him. She locked and bolted it as her back slid down against it and she finally hit the floor. Her mind was running a million miles a second. Was he trying to say what she thought? Did Ryan Wolfe feel the same way about her that she did for him?


	3. Game On

Okay, don't hate me for not updating this in sooo long but I lost my inspirational muse. I don't know what happened, my heart just didn't feel in it but I'm going to try and get this finished! I don't know where I'm going with this story but this chapter is from Eric's POV. I figured in this little triangle, each of them should get a chapter and I'll figure the rest out as I go. I quite possibly might even forward time a little after this chapter. We'll see. :D Enjoy and review. I'd like to know if anyones reading this anymore so I won't waste my time writing.

Oh and an FYI…this will be about a month after the last chapter.

* * *

Eric Delko. It was a name that no woman ever forgot. It was well known that Eric Delko was, to put it politely, a charmer. Granted, he had come a long way in recent years but his flirting was still at it's best. The only real thing that had changed was this new emotion that had taken over his body; love. He was desperately in love with the blonde CSI that walked around the lab like she owned the place and that wasn't a bad thing. Like every other man that had succumb to Calleigh Duquesne's power, he wondered what it was he loved about her. Her charm, her amazing body, flirtatious smile or sexy attitude, her intelligence, her green eyes, blonde hair, confidence... Eric loved all of it and he wanted all of it.

He had been through hell and back and she had always been there beside him. They talked relationships, cases, family, everything. The only thing in his way was Jake…and apparently Ryan Wolfe. He had not seen that coming, Ryan had gotten a lame flower and made up some lame story about it that he was unsure if Calleigh had bought it or not. Eric hated Ryan. Okay, hated was a bit strong but he disliked him a lot. He had gambled on lab time, gotten fired and started reporting on cases before he waltzed back in like nothing happened. There was something secretive about Ryan that Eric just didn't like. He was the type that leaked things to the press and gave Calleigh super bank notes that could have potentially gotten her into a lot of trouble. It was his attitude, the way he walked around like he belonged there. Or maybe, just maybe he was jealous of how Calleigh was with him? No. That wasn't it. That was laughable. Calleigh was polite and even, mildly flirtatious with everyone…or so he told himself.

He was watching them across the lab. They were smiling, there was even a hint of laughter from her side. He felt kind of like a stalker but it wasn't his fault they had caught his eye. He could feel the jealousy shoot through his veins as they talked. He wasn't jealous of Ryan, he was jealous of any man that she talked to. They had known each other from the start, become great friends and were always there by each other's side, she was there when he got shot and he was there after her abduction. They just made sense, why didn't she see that too?! He couldn't watch them anymore. It was driving him insane. He marched across the lab and stopped beside Calleigh as he glared down at Ryan who was sitting relaxed in a chair at a desk.

"Don't you have work to do? You should be processing that evidence from the Turner case, Wolfe, Horatio was bringing him in today and we have nothing to hold him on!" Eric snapped at Ryan causing Calleigh to frown a little, surprised at Eric's agitation. Ryan's features barely even twitched, which just annoyed Eric even more. Eric was a higher ranking then Ryan, he should do what he was told. Ryan looked Eric over as cool as the north wind and smirked a little.

"I already processed the evidence and Horatio's arrested the suspect, and up until now, Calleigh and I were enjoying a pleasant conversation on our break." Ryan spoke clearly but coldly. Eric looked to Calleigh for some form of aid but all he got was a shrug of her shoulders.

"I'm not getting in the middle of whatever is going on between you two but you really should take it outside the work place." That was typical Calleigh, always the diplomat, intent on keeping personal issues outside of their professional life.

With that, the blonde said her goodbyes and walked swiftly out of the lab and down the corridor, most likely back to her own ballistics lab. Eric's brown eyes watched her hips sway, smirking a little before he looked back at Ryan whom shot him a disapproving look. Eric knew he was not the only one battling for the blonde's attention and he was going to have to step his game up a notch. Not now, not ever was he going to lose her to Ryan Wolfe. Tilting his head, the Cuban leaned comfortably against the work counter and shot Ryan a confident smile, his eyes cold.

"Way out of your league, Wolfe." Eric said with a simple shrug gaining a slightly confused look from Ryan.

"We're friends, Eric, just like you are too." He shot back and leaned forward, moving his arms to rest on the counter. Eric felt his blood boil at that comment, he hated how he left Wolfe get under his skin but somehow he still did.

"I'm just sayin', friendly advice…" He paused, gaining a sceptical look from Ryan.

"…Although I could see how you'd think something could happen there." Eric said with a smug smile knowing he had to discourage Ryan so he could make a move first.

"I mean, she always dates the lost causes, the outsiders; Hagen, Elliot, Jake…you fit into that category. The guys that mess up on cases, mess up big time…" Eric said slowly, emphasising the word big and watched Ryan carefully, waiting to see the acknowledgement in his eyes.

"The ones that let her down, disappoint her, men with bad addictions." So that was a low blow on Eric's part, hinting at his gambling but this wasn't a fight Eric was going to lose.

"You're just not good enough for her. Don't be another mistake in her life." Eric finished with that and turned slowly before leaving the lab; a smirk on his face. Although, Eric would never try to purposely demean a co-worker or purposely hurt them; the stakes were too high. He was in love with Calleigh Duquesne, he had to give it his all.

* * *

Okay, so Eric's crudeness towards Ryan would, obviously never happen in the show and I hope it doesn't offend anyone but he's not supposed to be likeable in this story! Thanks!


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